Monday, 1 December 2008

The Lexus Coupe (in Japan, the 'Soarer') is one of the finest cars ever made. I was lucky enough to get one secondhand in 1994 - and I still have it. It passed 100,000 miles this week and so deserves some accolade.

Designed in California and built between 1991 and 2000, it's a true four-seater coupe with lovely lines. It comes in two basic versions - the V8 automatic and the GT twin-turbo manual which turns out 330bhp. Mine is the latter type, and the garage which looks after it says it's one of only five in the country.

It has been completely trouble-free - apart from a clutch (from too much city driving) and the occasional flat battery, due it being left for weeks when I travelled. It's not even thirsty; but recently it has had to give way to the Prius for London driving, as it still attracts the congestion charge.

But for sheer well-mannered fun on the open roads of Hampshire and Wiltshire, there is no better car. I'm sure that one day it'll be recognised as a classic.

No medium has yet been devised for the translation of life into language, nor can any words recall the dazzling fluidity of days. Single yet fixed in sequence, they fall like the shaft of a cataract into time and through it.